On Monday morning, Jenny McCarthy wasofficially named the new co-host of “The View.” By that afternoon, she could unofficially be called the series’s most controversial addition yet. McCarthy has an unusual resumé for a mainstream talk show host: Playboy Playmate, MTV game show host, parody film star, parenting author, and one of the biggest public opponents of childhood vaccines. It’s that last line on her CV that’s sparking the outrage bubbling up on social media after the announcement.

By Tuesday afternoon, McCarthy and “The View” had not responded Yahoo! Shine’s request for comment on the brewing backlash.

After co-hosts Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck decided to leave at the end of this season, the show needed some new fire-starters, and possibly some more carriers of foot-in-mouth disease. If there’s any surefire way to keep viewers attention, it’s through controversy.

In “The View” hall of fame there’s Sherri Shepherd’s world-view (it’s maybe flat), Starr Jones’wedding, Whoopi Goldberg’s defense of Mel Gibson, Behar’s stand-off with Bill O’Reilly and Hasselbeck’s repeated run-ins with show co-hosts. They’ve all contributed to the fact that we still care about an old show’s new co-host, after so many have come and gone. (Remember Rosie? And what about the great search for Lisa Ling?)

The secret formula for the show’s success borrows from “American Idol”: watching a trainwreck moment is part of the fun, especially when they merit a verbal punishment from series co-creatorBarbara Walters — aka, daytime’s Simon Cowell.